Chapter 1485: A Draw

The surroundings were completely silent. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the battlefield.

The blinding light lasted for the time it took to drink a cup of tea before it finally began to fade.

Hiss...

Countless people sucked in sharp breaths.

Half of the Thousand Armed Formation's body was gone, and the Black Dragon Formation had lost a chunk of its tail. That meant in their final clash, both sides had suffered massive losses, with countless cultivators dying.

"Is it a mutual defeat? " Third Sister murmured to herself.

Ye Qingqiu and the others quickly focused their attention on both sides.

Shao Guangyin's aura had stabilized. Half of the Thousand Armed Formation had been destroyed, but the overwhelming demonic flames had already vanished, replaced once again by serene Buddhist light.

Nevertheless, Shao Guangyin himself was in a miserable state. He knelt on one knee with his hands on the ground, struggling to keep himself from collapsing. Around him, cultivators were scattered across the ground. Many still breathed, but all were unconscious. Of the countless experts within the formation who weren't directly affected by the impact, only a few fifth- and sixth-transformation immortals barely managed to stay awake. The rest were either dead or unconscious.

As for Xie Aman, she still stood there smiling faintly, apparently unscathed. However, her complexion was deathly white. Beside her, Hundred Battle Immortal Sovereign and the others lay motionless, all unconscious.

After several breaths, both formations began to collapse, Immortal Boats leaving the formation. By now, everyone could tell who had won and who had lost.

Leng Buqi was shocked. "I-It's a draw! Incredible! Shao Guangyin's strength is truly terrifying."

He realized he would have to reevaluate Rulai Monastery's true power.

The others felt the same. Every faction's evaluation of Shao Guangyin leaped to extreme levels. Not just anyone could fight Xie Aman, that madwoman, to a standstill. How many in the Nine Mortal Realms could claim such a feat?

"The power of that last strike... it must've been at the peak of the eighth transformation, right?" Xianyue Guan muttered in amazement.

Aside from the ninth-transformation immortals walking the higher Immortal Paths, that battle was about as close to the pinnacle of the Nine Mortal Realms as one could reach.

"Didn't expect our boss to actually take a fall this time," tittered the third sister with smug amusement. "She probably won't be able to fight again. That means it's my showtime. I'll lead the Enlightenment God Palace to capture the Great Thunder Sound Temple. As for credit, she and I will split it, don't you all agree?"

The nearby cultivators murmured in agreement. "That's reasonable."

Time ticked by, and soon, half an hour passed.

Senior Sister finally looked at Shao Guangyin with a faint, knowing smile. "You lost."

"If I lost, then why did you wait half an hour to say so?" Shao Guangyin slowly raised his head in his kneeling position. He unsteadily got to his feet, a bright smile spreading across his pale face. "This time, it's a draw. Neither of us can continue fighting."

"You seem quite confident," Senior Sister said with a smirk. "Today, my Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Brothers and Sisters are all here. What can your Rulai Monastery possibly use to stop us?"

Shao Guangyin smiled faintly. "We'll only know after fighting, won't we? As strong as you are, didn't you just end in a tie with me?"

He turned away without another word, leading his people back to the Rulai Monastery's formation.

Senior Sister hesitated briefly, then forcibly activated her formation once more, reforming the Black Dragon Formation to fly back to their lines.

The surrounding Immortal Boats soon dispersed again, clearly too drained to maintain the formation any longer.

One by one, the core disciples of the Enlightenment God Palace flew over.

"Check on the expedition teams. Collect the bodies of those who have died and save those who are still alive."

The core disciples gave instructions to their subordinates, then approached Xie Aman with solemn faces.

"Senior Sister, your injuries aren't light, are they?" said Third Sister with a sly, mocking smile.

Xie Aman shot her a glance. Her expression reddened slightly as a thin trickle of blood escaped her lips. She swallowed the blood surging up her throat, wiped her mouth, and smiled faintly. "That bald donkey Shao Guangyin does have some skill. That technique of his, I've never seen it before. It's impressive. You'd all better be careful next. I suspect he's not the only one who can use that kind of power."

Everyone was startled. They had all witnessed the terrifying might of Shao Guangyin's demonic transformation. If the Rulai Monastery had more disciples capable of the same thing, then the war awaiting the Enlightenment God Palace could prove deadly.

"Even if you're right," Third Sister said confidently, "there can't be many who can perform such a technique. Everyone's here today except Second Brother. The Rulai Monastery won't have enough to fight us."

"Let's hope so." Xie Aman snorted. "Follow the previous order of battle. I'll be resting and recovering. The rest is up to you."

"Yes!"

The battles that followed fully demonstrated the Rulai Monastery's strength as one of Fangcun Realm's top forces.

The Enlightenment God Palace's Third Sister, full of confidence, won several fights against their core disciples, but her energy drained too fast, and she was eventually defeated. Though she could perform Formation Immortal Arts, each use took an immense toll. Without enough immortal essence, she couldn't sustain them indefinitely. Their Fourth Sister fell soon after.

Their Fifth Brother fell as well. He had defeated a Rulai Monastery core disciple who could also use Formation Arts, but the cost had been too great; he couldn't fight any further. Next came the Sixth and Seventh core disciples, who were both defeated in turn.

By that point, the Rulai Monastery had already lost more than twenty matches, leaving just over seventy core disciples who could still fight.

Ye Qingqiu frowned slightly. "Are they planning to exhaust their weaker disciples first, then use their elites to sweep the Enlightenment God Palace at the end?"

A core disciple beside him whispered, "Unlikely. The core disciples of the Enlightenment God Palace who will fight later are weaker, but that is also the case for those of the Rulai Monastery. Even if they hold a few trump cards back, the Enlightenment God Palace can still grind them down using sheer numbers."

"That's right. The Enlightenment God Palace still has over ninety core disciples left to fight. The numbers favor them."

Everyone nodded. At the ordinary core disciple level, their strengths were similar. Even if one side won a round, the next round would likely be a loss.

In the back-and-forth war of attrition, with Jueming already holding numerical superiority, it was almost impossible for Rulai Monastery to turn the tide.

"Not necessarily," Ye Qingqiu said grimly. "If someone else can use the same demonic art Shao Guangyin just did... Enlightenment God Palace might not take Great Thunder Sound Temple so easily."

***

"Eighth Sister's up next," said Xie Aman. "Her opponent looks ordinary. She'll definitely win this one. But... if the Rulai Monastery has another damn monk who can enter that demonic state, the entire situation will change."

Everyone's expressions turned serious, except Third Sister, who let out a dismissive chuckle. "Even if another appears, can he win ten matches in a row? He doesn't have enough immortal essence to keep that up."

This might be the perfect opportunity,

Fang Chen thought to himself.

If anyone from Rulai Monastery used that demonic technique, they were likely another who had awakened memories of a past life. He quietly noted it down as such people would need to be dealt with later.

As everyone chatted, Li Shanzi stepped onto the field. He used his Formation Immortal Art to defeat his opponent with a single sword strike. He then won another match right after, but by the third fight, he ran out of strength and fell.

By then, the Enlightenment God Palace's strongest core disciples had all been spent. What remained would be ordinary core disciples battling each other.